Bruins defenseman Matt Bartkowski on Wednesday had his arbitration hearing set for July 30.

Bartkowski is a restricted free agent and elected to go to arbitration. The sides can still reach an agreement at any point leading up to the hearing, as many do to avoid the messy process.

The 26-year-old played on a one-year, $650,000 contract last season and is likely due for a raise after playing 64 games with 18 assists, including a role as a top-four blue liner in the second half of the season, his first full campaign in the NHL.

If the process goes all the way to arbitration, the Bruins could ‘walk away’ from the award. That would make Bartkowski an unrestricted free agent. This rarely happens, although it would allow the Bruins to remove a defenseman from what has become a roster surplus.

With David Warsofsky ready to make the jump to the NHL, general manager Peter Chiarelli has nine capable blue liners and will have to move at least one before the Oct. 8 season opener vs. the Flyers. Bartkowski is among a group that could be deemed expendable, including Johnny Boychuk, Adam McQuaid, Kevan Miller and Warsofsky.